Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Sold by W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. cut its stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,277 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC increased its position in Essential Utilities by 157.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTRG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Essential Utilities in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.80.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

WTRG opened at $38.63 on Tuesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.28 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.63.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 28.74%. The company had revenue of $435.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.3255 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is 63.41%.

Essential Utilities Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.